His name is John White. John White shot a man on his property. His defense is that 5 people, 1 with a baseball bat, came to his house late at night to kill his son, made a move for his gun, and was shot in self defense.
His name is Joe Horn. His story is that two burglars were robbing his neighbor's home, that he had a right to carry a gun, and then the burglars came near his property, he shot them.
Follow the Chart Below to see the similarities and differences. Something is going to piss you off.
Traits Joe Horn John White
- Skin Color White Black
------of Shooter
- Skin Color Black/Hispanic White
------of person(s)shot
- # of "thugs" 2 (both shot 5 (1 shot
------ present + killed) + killed)
- Were "thugs" Clearly Yes, had aluminum
------ armed? no baseball bat.
- Sobriey of sober drunk
-----"thugs"
- Was threatened No. Yes.
------by "thugs"
- Death threats No. Yes.
-----made.
- Warning given No. Yes.
------to "thugs?"
- Racial epithets No. Yes.
------used.
- Property "thugs" Neighbor's Homeowner's.
------were on.
- Type of Suburban Suburban/Exurban
-----Neighborhood
- Gun fired in Definitely Apparently
----- self defense Not So.
- Left Property Yes No
-----To Shoot
- Cops coming? Yes. Nowhere
nearby.
- Disobeyed a Yes No.
-----police officer.
- Time of day. Afternoon Late Night
- Age of About 50 About 50
-----Homeowner
- Family Home No. Yes.
------ at time?
- Attitude of He's a How dare
-----Right Wingers hero. he?
- On Trial for No. Yes.
------Murder
- Level of media National Local
------Attention
An intelligent argument can be made that neither White nor Horn should be charged with any crime. (I lean toward this position personally.)
An intelligent argument can also be made that both men should be charged with crimes. (I disagree but could make a legal argument for the prosecutor in each case.)
However, look at the mitigating factors? (time of day, location, whose property, threats, sobriety, safety factors, weapons, # of assailants, orders of police, etc...) They're not even in the same ballpark.
Yet you don't see CNN or Faux News broadcasting stories sympathetic to John White. You don't see NBC, ABC, or CBS talking about John White's right to defend his wife and son.
The so called supporters of Daniel Cicciaro, the 17 year old shot by John White, are calling for White to be sentenced for manslaughter in a trial that is currently ongoing in Riverhead, NY. The Cicciaros are being supported by racists and white supremist groups.
But what if White was white and Cicciaro was black? I doubt any of them would be supporting the Cicciaro family. (Note - It is fair to point out that there are those who are also inconsistently supporting White and opposing Horn for reasons of racial prejudice and bigotry.)
I know Daniel Cicciaro's home town on Long Island quite well. I grew up there. Although there were many good people in my hometown, we had large numbers of racists, bigots, and KKK types who went around damaging property, committing assaults, etc... and were used to having their "youthful indiscretions" covered up for either by law enforcement (some of whom are bigots), high school sport coaches, and high school administrators. My hometown area a few years ago had a couple's home burned down because they were an interracial couple and infamously had a local Republican legislative leader call the burning of a cross on school property "kid's stuff."
Long Island is much more liberal today than it was 20 years ago but it still has a significant percentage of bigots and human trash disproportionately higher than the general American population. Long Island also has a higher percentage of racists (less than half) than most areas in the South.
The Daniel Cicciaro's of the world are not used to the idea that somehow people will defend themselves if you try to bully them or threaten them. They operate in a world of it's okay to beat people up or damage their property if you don't like their skin color, religion, nationality, or perceived sexual orientation. It scares the crap out of them that their actions could have consequences. It scares the crap out of them that there are people out there who are willing to apply the same rules to them that they want applied to others.
Cicciaro undeservedly paid for it with his life. For that, the blame lies mostly with those who raised him poorly.
The bottom line is that 5 racists showed up at John White's house late at night with a baseball bat with intent to harm if not kill members of the White family. They blocked off street access, made death threats, used disgusting words like "N**ger," went on White's property, and came toward him. Had John White taken his shotgun and killed all 5 of them under these circumstances, I as a juror would acquit him.